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Podcast: New Books in Early Modern History
Episode: Mauro JosƩ Caraccioli, "Writing the New World: The Politics of Natural History in the Early Spanish Empire" (U Florida Press, 2021)
Description: Is natural history a genre of political thought? What do we miss about theĀ substanceĀ of political ideas when we ignore the study of nature?Writing the New World: The Politics of Natural History in the Early Spanish EmpireĀ (University of Florida Press, 2021)Ā demonstrates how the natural historical writings of chroniclers, explorers, and missionaries āhelped to lay out a distinct set of empirical foundations for modern political thought.ā Dr. Mauro JosĆ© Caraccioli connects scientific, historical, religious, and political ideals to show how Spanish natural history of the so-called āNew Worldā was deeply political.Political theorists focus on empi...